The Herald
5 January 2010
Harare — The Government is not increasing tuition fees this term, which begins next Tuesday, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Senator David Coltart, said yesterday.
Minister Coltart said pupils in primary schools in high-density suburbs would continue paying US$5 while those in secondary schools would part with US$10.
Parents with children attending primary schools in low-density suburbs will continue forking out US$10 and those at secondary schools will pay US$20.
Minister Coltart said the decision to maintain the fees structure came after a realisation that most parents were failing to pay fees.
“The position is that school fees at Government schools will remain the same. From our experience last year it seems that parents are not able to pay any more than what we asked,” he said.
He expressed hope that the move would boost enrolment at schools compared to last year where the enrolment dropped because most parents could not afford fees while some sent their children abroad for learning. Minister Coltart however said private schools with intentions of raising their fees should approach his Ministry first.
“Private schools should send their requests to the Permanent Secretary in my Ministry for approval,” he said.
Although the Government came up with a fee structure, parents last year were forced to fork more as schools demanded incentives for teachers and levies.
Meanwhile, private schools such as Christian Brothers College made slight additions to the fees they were charging during the third term.
Parents with children attending CBC said the school is demanding US$1 090 up from the third term’s fees of US$900.
Dominican Convent added US$100 to last year’s fee of US$500 for pupils between Form One and Four and US$50 to US$600 for Advanced Level pupils.